For the upcoming fiscal year the President has requested $7.2 billion in discretionary spending for the Environmental Protection Agency, a $383 million reduction from the Fiscal Year 1999 enacted amount.
I have a number of concerns with EPA's FY 2000 budget. One concern, in particular, is the 23 percent cut in funding for the Clean Water Act. As one of its ten goals, EPA lists the effective protection of America's rivers, lakes, wetlands, aquifers, and coastal and ocean waters. The budget document contains these facts: "16 percent of assessed rivers and streams and 35 percent of assessed lake acres are not safe for fish consumption; 20 percent of assessed rivers and streams and 25 percent of lake acres are not safe for recreational activities (e.g., swimming); and 16 percent of assessed rivers and streams and 8 percent of lake acres are not meeting drinking water uses." If those are the facts, I don't see how a substantial reduction in clean water funding can be justified.
This is but one example of the issues we need to explore, both in today's hearing and in oversight hearings I plan to hold later in the Spring.